Countertop Square Footage & Slab Yield
Total up your countertop sections, add a realistic waste allowance, and see both the square footage and how many slabs the job needs.
Your countertop area & slab yield
Areas are summed across all sections, converted from square inches to square feet (144 in² per ft²), then the waste allowance is added before dividing by your usable slab area. Slabs always round up to whole units.
Getting the area right before you shop for stone
Square footage is the first number every stone job turns on — it drives the material cost, the number of slabs, and how much sealer and edgework you'll need. The reliable way to measure is to split the counter into simple rectangles, measure each in inches, and add them up. Islands, peninsulas, and the two legs of an L each become their own section here.
The gap between raw area and what you actually buy is waste. Because stone comes in fixed slabs and every piece has to be cut, squared, and often vein-matched, a portion of each slab is unusable. Building that allowance in now keeps you from ordering a slab short — the single most common way a countertop project stalls partway through fabrication.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I measure countertop square footage?
Break the counter into rectangles, measure each one's length and width in inches, and multiply to get square inches. This tool sums every section and divides by 144 (the number of square inches in a square foot) to give total square footage. For an L-shaped or U-shaped run, enter each straight segment as its own section.
Why add a waste allowance?
A fabricator can't use 100% of a slab. Saw kerf, seam trimming, sink and cooktop cutouts, and matching veins across pieces all consume material. A 10–20% allowance is typical; busy patterns and book-matched veining push it higher. The tool applies your chosen percentage on top of the raw area before working out slabs.
How many slabs will my project need?
Enter the usable area of one slab — that's the gross slab size minus the strip lost to squaring the edges, usually a bit less than the label dimension. The tool divides your area-with-waste by that usable figure and rounds up, because you can't buy a fraction of a slab.
What's a typical slab size?
Granite and quartzite slabs commonly run about 105–120 inches by 55–65 inches, roughly 45–55 square feet gross. Engineered quartz is often a bit smaller. Usable yield is always less than gross because of edge trim and the layout your fabricator chooses to match veins.
Is this the same as what my fabricator will quote?
Treat it as a planning estimate. Your fabricator lays out your actual pieces on the actual slabs to minimise seams and match veining, which can change how many slabs are needed. Use this figure to sanity-check a quote and budget, not to replace a shop's slab layout.
Educational estimate — not a fabrication quote. A shop's slab layout is the authority on real yield; confirm quantities with your fabricator before ordering stone.